Sunday, June 5, 2011

Last week, my girls and I worked really hard to get their bedroom cleaned, organized, rearranged, and de-cluttered. It was a really, really big job.
Our girls share an abnormally large bedroom space, which is both a blessing and a curse. A blessing, because there is plenty of room for them to store their belongings and play. A curse, because there is plenty of room for them to store their belongings and play. Trust me, two walk-in closets is too many in any given bedroom. (If you think it is hard to keep one child's closet clean and organized, try keeping two enormous closets clean and organized.) Um....just realized I've written about this problem before--go here if you really want all the nitty-gritty details.

Probably due to the fact that this bedroom is more frequently in chaos than in pretty-for-pictures mode, I have few pictures of it. In fact, the only ones I found in my files were taken several years ago (Lily is in them!), but are a fairly accurate depiction of the typical disarray. Here you go:

Lately, we've had some conflict between the sisters over the care and keeping of said bedroom space. (Imagine that--sisters arguing?!?!?!) They have both demanded their own room. That's not in the cards for my girls, so I decided on an alternative plan: dividing the room in half. No, I didn't throw down a chalkline, but I did help the girls rearrange their belongings so that they would each have half the room with the accompanying closet. Maybe in the future, we can install some type of shelving/room divider.

Before I show you the pictures, I have to offer you a disclaimer: the pepto-bismol pink walls were already there when we bought the house. My girls loved those pink walls five years ago, but they are definitely over them....as am I. It's going to take a lot of work to strip that wallpaper border and cover the pink with pale blue, but that's what we're hoping to do in a few months.

Here's the "panoramic" tour....

.....beginning with the bedroom entrance. (I wasn't kidding about Pepto Bismol, was I?)

The wall of closets....

An explanation about those cords you see snaking into the closets. Both closets were built without any lighting--or easy access to electricity--whatsoever. We have been very creative with lamps and extension cords. Seriously, the Bionic Man and I are convinced that the former owners of this home suffered from some sort of light sensitivity (vampires, maybe?), since we have quadrupled the number of installed lights in this house.

Endeavor's reading nook....(she has a tall bookshelf just inside that closet.)

Are you dying to know about Superkid's bed? Our cottage bed was built by the ever-amazing Bionic Man for both girls, soon after we moved into our home. He found plans for the bed online, here, ordered them, and built it himself. We hired an artist to paint the murals--which was much less than we imagined it would be, and turned out much, much better than if we had DIY'ed it.

Originally, Superkid slept on a double bed that fit nicely on the lower level, and Endeavor slept in the second story bunk. But that all changed when we rearranged the room. Superkid now has the cottage bed, and Endeavor gets her own space that is (in her viewpoint) more age-appropriate.

Excuse the poor lighting, but here is what it looks like up inside the cottage.

And a look at underneath the cottage, where we created a little office/craft space for Superkid.

The curtain wasn't part of the original bed, but when I decided to give Superkid "office space", I felt like I needed something to quickly hide that space, if necessary. Bedsides, what child doesn't enjoy their own little spot to hide away? I had the fabric in my stash (vintage, from Grandma Kitchen's collection), and all it took was a couple of quick seams and an inexpensive tension rod to create that pretty little nook.

Here's a look at the side of the bed, with access to the bunk.

We love the details that the artist added. Stuffed animals get stored in that lowest cubby.

The "shingled" roof is actually made of strips of faux wood panelling. That Bionic Man is a genius.

Endeavor's space is a little more grown up. The little vignette she has created on her bedside table offers a glimpse at the direction the room is going to take when the walls are painted.

My girls are sooooo excited about their new bedroom arrangement. I'm excited that I don't have to cringe every time I walk past their room, and that I didn't have to referee any fights over who was responsible for making the mess while they cleaned their room on Saturday. Guess what? It's been a week since our big cleaning project, and the room remains immaculate. Score!

Now, I have to tackle sooooo many more spaces before my parents arrive for a visit, this week. The rest of my house looks like a bomb went off in it over the weekend. Wish me luck!

wow. now THAT'S a bedroom!! it's huuuuuge!! and not to throw in my 2 cents when it's not solicited, but... when moved into our house, every room was covered in wallpaper. after a few rooms, i figured out that an extra strong mixture of mr. clean and water in a spray bottle worked better than any of those smelly sprays made for wallpaper removal. after you peel the decorative layer off and you just have the paper backing, spray it, let it set for a few minutes. then it'll scrape off pretty clean with a large putty/spackling tool. i'm a new follower and can't wait to see what you end up doing with this room! also, would love it if you shared this at my tip-toe thru tuesday party! http://crayonfreckles.blogspot.com/2011/06/tip-toe-thru-tuesday-2.html

The Quote that Really Inspires Me:

"You may think you don’t have talents, but that is a false assumption, for we all have talents and gifts, every one of us. The bounds of creativity extend far beyond the limits of a canvas or a sheet of paper and do not require a brush, a pen, or the keys of a piano. Creation means bringing into existence something that did not exist before—colorful gardens, harmonious homes, family memories, flowing laughter. "What you create doesn’t have to be perfect. So what if the eggs are greasy or the toast is burned? Don’t let fear of failure discourage you. Don’t let the voice of critics paralyze you—whether that voice comes from the outside or the inside. "If you still feel incapable of creating, start small. Try to see how many smiles you can create, write a letter of appreciation, learn a new skill, identify a space and beautify it." - Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "Happiness, Your Heritage"